


Beauty School Drop Out

by levele3



Series: Sister Serenade [1]
Category: Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: 50's dinner, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Budding Romance, Cute, Fluff, Gen, Grease - Freeform, Musical, Serenade, Singing, Sisters, Songs, sisterly fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 10:13:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12363468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levele3/pseuds/levele3
Summary: Dawn drops out of beauty school when she makes one mistake too many and runs to her sister for comfort, instead she gets a serenade!





	Beauty School Drop Out

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea for a while so I thought I'd finally write it out. Just a little fairy sister's fluff, without writing out a whole Grease AU

Dawn stood outside of the _Sugar Shack_ with no small amount of nerves. She pulled at the sleeve of her coat, and worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she studied the neon glow of the diner’s OPEN sign. It was a fifty’s style dinner owned by the local eccentric, a black woman known as Sweet Plum. With one final adjustment to the kerchief covering her hair and a deep breath Dawn pulled the door open and walked inside. 

Marianne stood behind the little podium next to the “please wait to be seated” sign. Like all the staff it looked as though she had just stepped out of the past.  She was wearing a white t-shirt and a lavender coloured poodle skirt. Her head was bent inspecting the seating plan.

“I’ll be right with you-” Marianne started to say when she looked up and saw her sister standing there; her professional manner went right out the window.

“DAWN!” Marianne shouted in surprise, hustling over to her sister and pulling her into a tight hug, planting an army of kisses to her forehead.

Marianne pushed Dawn out, but kept her hands on her shoulder’s to inspect her.

“I didn’t expect to see you for another two weeks! Did something happen? Are you okay?” Marianne’s voice turned to instant concern. As happy as she was to see her little sister earlier than expected it could only mean something must have happened.

The look on Dawn’s face must have conveyed more emotion than she had wanted it to. Dawn couldn’t lie to save her life and to pretend that everything was fine would just be foolish. 

Marianne dropped the tough sister act, and her voice fell with her shoulders, “you dropped out didn’t you?”

The tears that had been threatening since sometime yesterday finally released from Dawn’s eyes and she snuggled her way back into her sister’s embrace. 

Marianne squeezed her sister a little tighter as she burrowed into her shoulder. Marianne awkwardly patted Dawn’s back, in a “there-there” kind of motion that utterly fell flat. If it had of been a boy that broke her sister’s heart Marianne could have riled off a pep-speech about the misery of love and that there would be other boys but this was different. This was Dawn giving up her dream.

“Come on, let’s get out of the doorway” Marianne murmured to her sister, leading Dawn to an empty booth on the far side of the diner where no one was sitting.

Ever since Dawn was little there was only one thing she had ever wanted to be when she grew up. When Marianne was eight and Dawn was five they had been asked to stand in their aunt Vickie’s wedding as flower girls, this included having their hair done professionally at a salon. Dawn had been in awe from the moment they walked in. The glittering silver domes of the hairdryers all set neatly in a row, the ring of naked bulbs around the mirrors at each hairdressers stand. When Dawn saw her reflection for the first time after her pale blonde curls had been all tied up in matching blue ribbons she had almost cried with joy. She looked so pretty and all she wanted from then on was to make everyone feel as happy as she did, and look as beautiful as they felt! 

Everything she had done since that day led to her applying to beauty school. Her first part-time job had been at the cosmetics counter at the local drugstore. Dawn wanted to do it all, hair, nails, waxing! She was going to open her own salon upon graduation. It was harder than she imagined.  

As Marianne walked past the counter she mimed to Bog to make up a chocolate milkshake, with lots of whip cream and extra cherries. He was wearing his usual getup of a leather jacket and black denim jeans. His dark brown hair slicked back. He looked like he had just walked off the set of _Grease_. He nodded to her and Marianne tried not to blush. Bog had only just started working at the _Sugar Shack_ and Marianne already had a crush on him.

“How bad is it?” Marianne asked, having seated Dawn at last.

With big wet puppy-dog eyes Dawn slowly undid the scarf covering her hair.

Marianne’s eyes went wide and she barely stifled a gasp. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth as a snort-giggle worked its way up her throat. Dawn’s luscious baby blonde curls were dyed a pastel blue.

“It’s not funny” Dawn pouted, trying to recover her hair as fresh tears spilled from her eyes. 

“No” Marianne agreed shaking her head, still fighting the laughter, “it’s hilarious!” 

A few hard giggles fought their way out of her mouth just as Bog dinged the bell on the counter letting Marianne know the milkshake was ready. Marianne hurried over to get it and returned to Dawn with a song on her lips.

“Your story sad to tell,” Marianne began to croon when she placed the shake in front of her sister.  
“Marianne!” Dawn cried in alarm recognizing the song.

“A teenage ne'er do well, most mixed up non-delinquent on the block” Marianne continued. She would do anything to see her sister be happy again. 

“Marianne!” Dawn hissed again, when several patrons turned their heads. She didn’t like all this attention.

“Your future's so unclear now, what's left of your career now? Can't even get a trade in on your smile” Marianne bopped her sister’s nose before backing away from the table a bit.

It was a good thing she could sing, it was part of the job requirement actually. All the staff at the _Sugar Shack_ had to be able to perform a bit.

Marianne threw herself into an impromptu routine “beauty school dropout, no graduation day for you, beauty school dropout, missed your mid-terms and flunked shampoo” Marianne sang as she danced along in front of the counter.

“Well at least you could have taken time, to wash and clean your clothes up, after spending all that dough to have the doctor fix your nose up” Marianne winked at Bog as she twirled past him

Sunny came out from around the back when he herd Marianne start to sing and was pleasantly surprised to see Dawn, with blue hair, being the object of her serenade. 

Dawn caught a glimpse of Sunny and she blushed, he looked so cute in his ice cream parlour outfit!

“Beauty school dropout, hanging around the corner store, beauty school dropout, it's about time you knew the score” Marianne turned and sashayed her hips as she walked back towards Dawn’s table.

She leveled Dawn with a rather sultry glare, “well they couldn't teach you anything, you think you're such a looker,” here Marianne twirled a finger through an errant strand of hair, just the way her ex used to “but no customer will go to you unless she was a hooker!”

Dawn gasped out loud at that then fell into a fit of giggles. She was sure her face was bright red but Marianne was making her feel better.

Marianne made a shooing motion with her hand “baby don't sweat it, you're not cut out to hold a job, better forget it, who wants their hair done by a slob?”

Marianne plopped her but down on Dawn’s table, “now your bangs are curled, your lashes twirled, but still the world is cruel, wipe off that angel face and go back to high school,” her voice got gentler, “Baby don't blow it, don't put my good advice to shame!” 

Marianne gently rubbed her hand down the side of Dawn’s cheek, “Baby you know it, even dear Abby'd say the same!”

In one swift motion Marianne slid off the table, kicked off her ballet flats and stepped up onto the bench seat across from Dawn’s and up onto the table, “Now I've called the shot, get off the pot, I really gotta fly, gotta be going to that malt shop in the sky.” 

Marianne dramatically raised her arms up over her head and flung them out to the side as she finished on a high note, dragging it out.

Instantly the sound of clapping, cheering and a few wolf whistles fill the little diner.

Marianne was flushed with adrenaline and maybe a little bit of embarrassment as she got down off the table slowly. Bog came over to give her a hand.  They stood face to face for a moment, Marianne’s chest rising and falling as the high of her performance ebbed. _Gosh he has the bluest eyes,_ Marianne thought.

“What do you think of my hair?” Dawn asked, all curious innocents.

Bog coughed and let go of Marianne’s hand, going so far as to take a step back from her but as he turned to look at Dawn Marianne could have sworn she saw him blush, maybe she wasn’t the only one with a little workplace crush.

“It’s a, it’s a” Bog stammered and fiddled with he hands as he looked for the right adjective, he glanced quickly at Marianne, “lovely” he finally decided on, only it came out as a question.

Dawn giggled and took a sip from her shake. “You’re cute, how long have you worked here, what’s your name? This is an amazing milkshake!”

Dawn took another sip of the Milkshake. 

Bog’s hand found the back of his neck and he rubbed at it, “umm Bog, Ah’ve been here aboot a month.”

He shrugged his shoulders and chanced a glance at Marianne who was looking at him with smug satisfaction and mirth. She was finding this whole situation very amusing. 

“Dawn!” Sunny said as he finally made his way over.

“Sunny!” Dawn said with a squeal of glee at seeing her best friend, “I didn’t know you were working tonight! It’s so good to see you!” She jumped up from the table and pulled Sunny into a tight hug.

Bog took this as his cue to leave. 

“Take a break, Sunny” Marianne said, laying a hand on his shoulder when the friends had finally parted. “You want anything else?” she asked as the couple took their seats.

“Yeah, could I please have a vanilla shake, Marianne?” Sunny asked, polite as ever.

“And maybe an order of fries” Dawn piped up, “no wait, make that onion rings!” 

“Vanilla shake and onion rings” Marianne repeated as she wrote it down on her note pad, “got it.”

She turned to leave.

“Wait!” Dawn called out, and Marianne turned, note book in hand expecting Dawn to change her order again.

Instead she had a question, “If I’m Frenchy, who does that make you?”

Marianne let her mouth fall into a soft smile, “Rizzo, obviously.” 

As Marianne walked out to the kitchen she stole a glance at Bog. Once safely on the other side of the swinging doors she pressed herself against the wall there and sang softly to herself, “but to cry in front of you, that's the worst thing I could do…”


End file.
